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The Hoffman Agency Asia Pacific’s managing director, Chris Tang, was featured in two recent articles in Korean magazines regarding best practices in “green” marketing.
In The Economist, Tang comments on how Korean companies should emphasize the efficiency brought by environmentally friendly strategies to help their green campaigns to succeed.
In the publication of the Korea Federation of Advertising Associations, Tang discusses how PR companies can play a role in corporate green strategies, especially in the current economic recession.
An English summary of Tang’s thoughts on green marketing is included below:
Consumers are becoming more aware of companies’ environmental initiatives and, more importantly, their motivation in doing so. If before “going green” amounted to a redesigned logo or a heartwarming TV commercial, today companies have to do better to convince customers of their green strategy.
These days, getting your environmental message across has become much more challenging given the dramatic increase in the number of companies taking the green marketing route. On top of that, consumers and the media have become jaded by the idea of a genuine eco-sustainable campaign as they realize the extent of “greenwashing” happening in the market.
So, how can your company communicate its green message in a way that allows it to rise above the chatter and that people will believe in?
The answer is authenticity.
Authenticity is the cornerstone of a successful green marketing strategy. Companies that want to make a difference need to have a credible sustainability story to tell. Developing an authentic green message requires clarity, transparency and consistency. You need to be clear about what you want to achieve. You should be transparent about your environmental practices, and there should be consistency between what is being said and what is actually being implemented.
Another element that is often lost in most sustainability stories is social responsibility. Beyond addressing environmental issues, your company has to ensure that your green initiatives can enhance the welfare of the society. Consumers need to know what’s in it for them. They won’t buy green for the sake of green. You should be able to identify the consumer benefits/values that your green products bring. And only then will green sell.
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